| Timothy Richard Shadbolt | |
|---|---|
| 42nd Mayor of Invercargill | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1998 |
|
| In office 1993–1995 |
|
| Mayor of Waitemata City | |
| In office 1983–1989 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 February 1947 Remuera |
| Political party | New Zealand First Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis |
| Spouse(s) | first marriage (one son) Miriam Cameron (two sons, divorced) |
| Domestic partner | Asha Dutt |
| Children | three adult sons |
Timothy Richard "Tim" Shadbolt (born 19 February 1947) is a New Zealand politician. He is the Mayor of Invercargill and was previously Mayor of Waitemata City.
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Shadbolt was born in the Auckland suburb of Remuera in 1947. His father died in a flying accident in 1952. He was on the school council and appointed prefect.[1]
Shadbolt was a founding student of Rutherford College, Auckland, and attended The University of Auckland from 1966 to 1970, taking a year off in 1967 to work on the Manapouri Power Project in Southland. He was a member of the Auckland University Students Association executive, and editor of Craccum in 1972. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, he was prominent in the Progressive Youth Movement, a radical organisation, and was arrested 33 times during political protests,[2] most famously for using the word "bullshit"; this incident influenced the title of his autobiography.
After 1970, he founded a commune and concrete cooperative at Huia. He wrote an autobiography, Bullshit and Jellybeans.
Shadbolt stood for Mayor of Waitemata City in 1983 because he did not want the incumbent Tony Covic to be re-elected unopposed and surprisingly won the election. He celebrated, much to some people's disgust, by towing his trusty concrete mixer behind the Mayoral car. He won again in 1986 heading a political ticket called "Tim's Team", but lost the following election in the newly-formed Waitakere city (an enlarged Waitemata city) in 1989.[3] During his reign as Mayor he became infamous by twice losing the mayoral chains.[4]
In 1993, he ran successfully for the position of Mayor of Invercargill. In 1994, he contested the Selwyn by-election as a candidate for New Zealand First, but was placed fourth, and remained Mayor of Invercargill.[2] He was defeated in 1995, but remained on the council. As a result of the defeat, the mayoral Holden Calais was taken off his hands and he was given a Lada instead. In the 1996 general election he stood unsuccessfully as a candidate for the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party.[2]
In 1998 he was re-elected to the mayoralty (and given back the mayoral car) and has been the mayor ever since. In 2001 he was re-elected unopposed.
In October 2002 Tim Shadbolt told a conference of New Zealand's Disabled Persons Assembly that Invercargill had "an innovative approach to public transport, currently centred on 'Freebie the Bus' travelling the 'Purple Circle'". He said he hoped that in future all buses in Invercargill would be free and accessible.[5] (The Freebie and Purple Circle are zero-fare bus routes in Invercargill.)
In 2004 and 2007, he won his fourth and fifth mayoral terms by a huge margin. In 2010, he won his sixth Invercargill mayoral election. Shadbolt received 16,466 votes over mayoral candidates Suzanne Prentice (5,361 votes) and Carl Heenan (682 votes).[6] The 2010 election win made Shadbolt the longest serving mayor in New Zealand, with this being his 8th mayoral term (his 6th term in Invercargill).[7]
Shadbolt has one son from an early marriage. He met his second wife, Miriam Cameron, in 1970. There are two sons from this marriage. Cameron left Shadbolt in 1989 after alleged repeated domestic violence and they got divorced three years later.[1][8]
Shadbolt's current partner is Asha Dutt.[4]
He has presented several television documentaries, and the series That's Fairly Interesting.
In the 1990s he appeared in an advertisement promoting New Zealand cheese, where he humorously repeated the phrase "I don't care where as long as I'm mayor", referencing his dual mayoralties.[9] He admitted later that the phrase was developed by an advertising agency.[4]
In 2005, New Zealand Toastmasters awarded him the Communicator of the Year award.[1] He also played in the movie The World's Fastest Indian, starring the 1920 Indian, portraying a good friend of Burt Munro who organised social events for Invercargill's motorcycling community.[1]
He also participated in the New Zealand version of Dancing with the Stars where he placed 3rd.[4] In 2006 Shadbolt played the part of the Narrator in The Rocky Horror Show by the Invercargill Musical Theatre. He continued his theatre experiences by appearing in 2007 in the Invercargill Musical Theatres production of Sea Cruise.
In 2010, Shadbolt appeared on the comedy gameshow 7 Days as the guest participant in the round Yes, Minister.[10]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tony Covic |
Mayor of Waitemata City 1983–1989 |
Office abolished |
| Preceded by Eve Poole |
Mayor of Invercargill 1993–1995 1998–present |
Succeeded by David Harrington |
| Preceded by David Harrington |
Incumbent | |